Press Releases for Kids With Food Allergies

Read Press Releases issued by Kids With Food Allergies, Inc

August 2010

Kids With Food Allergies Hosts Annual Family Fun Expo; Dance-a-Thon, Live Music, Book Signings and Fun for Children

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Aug. 16 (AScribe Newswire) -- Kids With Food Allergies (KFA) will host its annual fundraiser Creating Better Lives Today - Family Fun Expo & Dance-a-Thon on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. outside the Whole Foods Market in North Wales, Pa. With 800 adults and children expected, it promises to be a day of food and fun for all.

One in 25 Americans has a food allergy and, when it comes to kids, those numbers are even higher. One in 17 children under the age of 3 has a food allergy, and they sometimes don't outgrow it. In all, more than 3 million children deal with this medical condition every single day. And the number of people in general who are being diagnosed with food allergies is on the rise. In fact, the incidence of peanut allergies has tripled in children between 1997 and 2008 according to a recent study.

KFA, a nationwide charity, is dedicated to providing day-to-day education, solutions, and assistance to children and their families who live with food allergies. This event is KFA's most important fundraising event for the year, raising funds to enable the charity to continue to offer free future events, educational materials and sustain its active online community. Visit http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org to learn more.

"Food allergies often prevent children and their families from fully participating in social events that many of us simply take for granted - like fairs and carnivals - due to the allergy risks," said Lynda Mitchell, President of Kids With Food Allergies. "This Family Fun Expo is designed to be an allergy-friendly event. Children can fully participate and enjoy meeting other children like themselves in a safe and joyous atmosphere while raising funds to support our mission."

A Day of Good Food & Fun (For All!)

The Family Fun Expo will feature an afternoon full of food, fun and education. It will kick-off with a fundraising dance-a-thon for children followed by a live, interactive music performance and puppet show by Kyle Dine. Dine's original songs educate and empower those living with food allergies. In addition, renowned allergen-free expert and author Cybele Pascal will be signing copies of her latest best-selling cookbook, The Allergen Free Baker's Handbook, as well as speaking with participants. Personal Chef Theo Petron will also be on-hand to prepare a delicious dish free of the top eight food allergens responsible for 90 percent of all allergic reactions: wheat, milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

Many allergy-friendly businesses are attending, and showcasing their products and services; all are designed to provide a day of fun, education, share resources, and raise funds- so that all kids can enjoy safe, great food. Additional activities for children will take place during the event, including a special appearance by PBS Kids' character Arthur.

Whole Foods Market, North Wales, is providing the outdoor venue for this fundraising event. "At Whole Foods Market, we recognize the challenges faced by families living with food allergies and we are pleased to bring safe and healthy options to the table," said Danielle Smith, Marketing Specialist and Community Liaison. "We hope that this event will both increase the understanding and compassion of the community, and also help families by providing awareness of new allergy-aware products and services."

For more information about the event, call 215-230-5394 or visit Kids With Food Allergies at http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org .

Kids With Food Allergies (KFA)

Founded in 2005 as a non-profit charity, KFA is a national organization of 20,000 families raising children with food allergies. KFA focuses on day-to-day support that helps children with food allergies and their families improve their quality of life through education, peer support, food and cooking assistance, and family activities. Its interactive website provides a powerhouse of resources, including the nation's largest online support community for families; quality parent education materials edited by a multidisciplinary medical advisory team; and an online collection of more than 1,000 "allergy-friendly" recipes. The recent, unprecedented rise in food allergies has spurred the organization's rapid growth.

Cybele Pascal

Cybele Pascal is the award-winning author of The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook, and the Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook. She has been a guest on The Martha Stewart Show, the Food Network, the Today show, ABC News, Good Morning America Health, and NPR.

She is a regular contributor to Living Without; the magazine for people with allergies and food sensitivities, and her recipes have appeared in many national publications, including Good Housekeeping, Allergic Living, and NY Parent. She has also written regular columns for Oxygen Media, AOL and Lime.com. In addition to her culinary work, Cybele is also an award-winning playwright. Pascal is the proud mother of two sons, Lennon and Montgomery. She lives in Los Angeles with her food-allergic family: husband Adam; sons Lennon and Monte; and their dogs, Izzie, and Carly (who also has food allergies). For more information on Cybele, visit http://www.cybelepascal.com .

Kyle Dine

Kyle Dine is the world's first dedicated "allergy musician" who performs songs for children at-risk for anaphylaxis, a life threatening allergic reaction. With allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and fish, he knows firsthand what it is like growing up with food allergies. The songs that he writes and performs are all focused on key educational messages expressing the importance of managing allergies safely. Songs such as "Smellephant the Allergic Elephant," "Epi-Man," and "I've Got Allergies Under Control" ultimately convey the theme to stay safe and stay positive. His CD is aptly titled, "You Must Be Nuts!" and is available through his website: http://www.kyledine.com or digitally through iTunes. He is currently working on a follow-up album titled "Food Allergies Rock!" which will be released this fall. For more information, visit http://www.kyledine.com .

Whole Foods Market

Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com), a leader in the natural and organic foods industry and America's first national certified organic grocer, was named "America's Healthiest Grocery Store" in 2008 by Health magazine. The Whole Foods Market motto, "Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet" captures the company's mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to its 53,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America by FORTUNE magazine for 12 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2008, the company had sales of $8 billion and currently has more than 275 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Fresh & Wild and Harry's Farmers Market are trademarks owned by Whole Foods Market IP, LP. Wild Oats and Capers Community Market are trademarks owned by Wild Marks, Inc.

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CONTACTS:

- Michele Cassalia
267-864-6979

- Julia Gillespie
917-628-9103

 

July 2010

Kids With Food Allergies Wins $20,000 Grant; Charity Finishes Among Top 200 in Chase Community Giving Competition on Facebook

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., July 23 -- Kids With Food Allergies (KFA), a Bucks County, PA based nonprofit organization, has been awarded $20,000 as part of the Chase Community Giving Summer 2010 program. More than 2.5 million people participated in the program, voting for their favorite charities. KFA received nearly 4,500 votes, finishing in 18th place among 500,000 eligible non-profits in this nationwide competition.

The Chase Community Giving Summer 2010 campaign was an opportunity for small and local charities to compete for a portion of the $5 million in grants awarded by Chase through the Chase Community Giving program running on the Facebook(r) platform. Charities asked their supporters to cast votes for them to win a share of $5 million. More than 200 winners from 35 states were selected.

"Kids With Food Allergies' flagship program is its web-based online support community. Continuous outreach to our members through Facebook and Twitter, where many of our supporters and members also are active, has been a natural progression of the organization's outreach efforts," says Lynda Mitchell, President of Kids With Food Allergies. "The Chase Community Giving campaign gave KFA an opportunity to further engage our thousands of supporters on Facebook, as well as their friends and family, to cast votes and make us eligible for one of the 200 grants awarded. We asked for their help, and they really came through for us."

Founded in 2005 as a non-profit charity, KFA is a national organization of 20,000 families raising children with food allergies. KFA focuses on day-to-day support that helps children with food allergies and their families cope with dietary restrictions, lifestyle adjustments, fear and isolation through education, peer support, food and cooking assistance, and family activities. Its interactive website provides a powerhouse of resources, including the nation's largest online support community for families; quality parent education materials edited by a multidisciplinary medical advisory team; and an online collection of more than 1,000 "allergy-friendly" recipes. The recent, unprecedented rise in food allergies has spurred the organization's rapid growth. KFA will be using this $20,000 grant to continue developing its flagship online support community program.

For more information, visit http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org .

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CONTACT: Lynda Mitchell, President, Kids With Food Allergies, 215-230-5394

May 2010

Kids With Food Allergies? Now Families Can Get Support for Free; Food Allergy Awareness Week is May 9-15

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., May 3 -- When their children are diagnosed with food allergies - as more than 3 million children across the country have been - parents can feel alone, overwhelmed and confused. Now families can connect online with other families to learn how to make their lives easier and their children's lives better. Just in time for Food Allergy Awareness Week, national nonprofit charity Kids With Food Allergies (KFA) has opened its popular online support community to all.

“Food allergies present unique challenges that only other families raising children with food allergies can understand,” says KFA President Lynda Mitchell.

“KFA's goal is to empower parents to best care for their children and to learn what they need to improve the quality of life for their children and themselves. We know how important our online community is to families for information sharing, social and emotional support and food/cooking help. KFA is opening its online support forums to expand its reach to the food allergy community-at-large, and in doing so, will better serve the public as part of its nonprofit mission.”

For the past four years, only families who paid for a membership had full access to KFA's online community. But with the financial support from donors and unrestricted funding from Shionogi Pharma Inc., the makers of the TwinJect® epinephrine autoinjector, “Now families can have improved access to online peer support just by signing up,” Mitchell says. Parents can register for free at www.kidswithfoodallergies.org.

Kids With Food Allergies offers the largest online support community for families raising children with food allergies and related conditions, including eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID) and Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES). On its support forums parents and caregivers share their stories, insights, and coping strategies as well as food ideas and recipes. Parents of young children with food allergies are the largest users of the community.

About Kids With Food Allergies

Founded in 2005 as a nonprofit charity, Kids With Food Allergies (KFA) is a national organization of 20,000 families raising children with food allergies. KFA helps children with food allergies and their families cope with dietary restrictions, lifestyle adjustments, fear and isolation through education, peer support, food and cooking assistance, and family activities. Its interactive Web site provides a powerhouse of resources including the nation's largest online support community for families; quality parent education materials edited by its multidisciplinary Medical Advisory Team; and an online collection of more than 1,000 “allergy-friendly” recipes. The recent, unprecedented rise in food allergies has spurred the organization's rapid growth. For more information, visit http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org .

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CONTACT: Lynda Mitchell, 215-230-5394,

November 2009

Kids With Food Allergies Takes Parents From Confusion to Confidence With a Free Starter Guide for Parenting a Child With a Food Allergy

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Nov. 17 -- National nonprofit organization Kids with Food Allergies announces the release of "From Confusion to Confidence: a Starter Guide for Parenting a Child with a Food Allergy." This free guide includes a 42-page compilation of articles, checklists and resources on topics ranging from understanding food allergy, diagnosis and treatment to day-to-day management of nutrition, cooking, shopping and living with food allergies.

"Most parents don't expect their bundle of joy to be diagnosed with a bundle of food allergies, and when it happens, parents are often left feeling overwhelmed, confused and alone," said Lynda Mitchell, president of Kids with Food Allergies. "This guide will empower parents by arming them with the practical advice and resources essential to successfully deal with a new diagnosis of food allergy."

Food allergy is a potentially serious immune response to eating specific foods or food additives, most commonly milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. The incidence of food allergy increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, and today, one in 25 children is affected. At this time, there is no cure for food allergies, and the only treatment is avoidance.

"Food allergies can be overwhelming for parents," said Sarah O'Brien of Nutricia North America, which provided an unrestricted educational grant to fund the project. "I had eight years of experience working with nutrition for food allergy families before my daughter was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy, but it was still overwhelming. I'm sure this comprehensive guide will be a treasure of information for families, helping them through a myriad of challenging steps as they get started when their children are newly diagnosed with a food allergy."

From Confusion to Confidence: a Starter Guide for Parenting a Child with a Food Allergy is available as a free e-book now simply by visiting www.kidswithfoodallergies.org.

For more information, call 215-230-5394 or visit Kids With Food Allergies at www.kidswithfoodallergies.org.

About Kids With Food Allergies

Founded in 2005 as a nonprofit charity, Kids With Food Allergies (KFA) is a national nonprofit organization of more than 18,000 families raising children with food allergies. KFA helps children with food allergies and their families cope with dietary restrictions, lifestyle adjustments, fear and isolation through education, peer support, food and cooking assistance, and family activities. Its interactive Web site provides a powerhouse of resources including the nation's largest online support community for families and an online collection of more than 1,000 "allergy-friendly" recipes. The recent, unprecedented rise in food allergies has spurred the organization's rapid growth. For more information, visit www.kidswithfoodallergies.org.

About Nutricia North America

Nutricia North America, based in Rockville, Md., is part of the Danone Medical Nutrition Division. A leader in clinical nutrition, Nutricia North America provides medical foods and infant formulas for the treatment of allergic, gastrointestinal, metabolic, neurological and genetic disorders. The range of quality products includes Neocate, the first hypoallergenic amino acid-based formula for infants and children who suffer from dairy/soy protein allergy and gastrointestinal conditions such as eosinophilic esophagitis. For more information, please visit www.neocate.com.